Champagne and other sparkling wines (hereinafter referred to generally as champagne) have long been associated with celebration. Too often, however, the excitement of the event is dispelled by problems associated with opening the champagne.
As champagne ferments, it generates a natural pressure within the bottle. This internal pressure can, under certain circumstances such as shaking or high temperature, become so great that the stopper will forcefully discharge from the bottle. For this reason, bottlers of champagne traditionally place a wire restraint or metal cap around the stopper and the bottle neck to secure the stopper in place. Most commonly, the stopper will remain in place after the wire restraint is removed.
Until recently, champagne bottles were sealed with cork stoppers. Cork, however, has a tendency to split and small particles can break off into the champagne. Recently, the trend has been to use plastic stoppers to seal the bottle. The plastic stopper is relatively inexpensive and is machine-adapted to give a tight and secure seal. Stoppers of either the cork or plastic variety may be of a generally cylindrical shape having smooth side walls or the stopper can have a downwardly-facing annular shoulder.
It is possible with some practice to remove the stopper from a champagne bottle without the aid of a specialized device by prying or rocking the stopper upward with the thumbs. As the stopper works free, however, the internal pressure of the champagne can cause the stopper to be discharged, possibly injuring onlookers. Moreover, at large events, such as weddings, or in commercial establishments where many champagne bottles may be opened at a single time, use of thumbs in this manner is not desirable.
On occasion one may desire to reseal the bottle and store the champagne for later use. After the bottle has been opened for the first time, however, the pressure in the bottle is substantially reduced. Consequently, increasingly more effort is required to remove the stopper from the bottle after the bottle has been resealed.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a champagne bottle opener which allows for the controlled removal of the stopper so as to prevent uncontrolled discharge of the stopper from the bottle opening.
It is further the object of the present invention to provide a champagne bottle opener which can easily and effortlessly open a bottle having either a smooth side wall or downwardly-facing shoulder.